If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. Remember to click the link in your activation email after you register. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Lonzie Barton autopsy report released

Nov 8, 2016

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The medical examiner's report on the death of Lonzie Barton has been released by the state attorney's office, marking an end to the case of the toddler who disappeared 16 months ago.

The autopsy report obtained by News4Jax Tuesday -- nine months after the child's remains were found in woods off Interstate 295 in Jacksonville's Bayard area -- provides grim details, saying Lonzie's skeletal remains were collected in 11 brown paper bags.

Several of the bags contained wisps of blond hair belonging to the blue-eyed boy, according to the report by the medical examiner’s office.

When Ruben Ebron, the man who told police that his girlfriend's 21-month-old son was abducted when his car was stolen last summer, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the death of the toddler, the state attorney's office acknowledged that there were old rib and skull fractures found on the remains.

The medical examiner's report notes "blunt trauma," including that Lonzie suffered eight blunt force rib fractures before his death and at least two skull fractures near the time of his death.

There were no drugs found in his system, according to the report.

The medical examiner was unable to pinpoint a cause or manner of death, which was a key factor in the eventual plea deal accepted by Ebron that has him serving 20 years in prison, along with concurrent sentences for child neglect, lying to police and tampering with evidence.

James Boyle, Ebron's attorney, was not shocked by the contents of the autopsy report, saying the results line up with the information his client told prosecutors and police after Lonzie's remains were recovered in January.

"If you remember at that time that Mr. Ebron was sentenced, the state attorney's office held out the possibility of additional charges if the findings were inconsistent with what he described to the police and to the prosecutors. There's nothing in here that contradicts anything that Mr. Ebron says, so I don't believe this would have any effect on Mr. Ebron's case," Boyle said.

Boyle said the report also proves that Ebron was willing to cooperate with law enforcement by telling them what happened to the child before he was reported missing.

“Ruben did say when they received the child from Baker County earlier, the week that this incident occurred, the child came back to him with injuries. In fact, Mr. Ebron actually photographed some of Lonzie’s injuries and later told the homicide detective of actually photographs of Lonzie’s injuries and later told the homicide detective where to find them on his cellphone that was seized by the police,” Boyle said.

more at link

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The 32-year-old man who told police that his girlfriend's 21-month-old son was abducted when his car was stolen last summer pleaded guilty Friday morning to aggravated manslaughter in the death of that toddler, Lonzie Barton.

Ruben Ebron accepted a plea agreement offered by his defense attorney that will have him serve 20 years in prison for that charge, along with concurrent sentences for child neglect, lying to police and tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors said Ebron last month led them to the remains of a child in woods off Interstate 295 near Bayard. Those remains were tentatively identified as Lonzie, who was reported missing July 24.

Assistant State Attorney Rich Mantei said Lonzie drowned in a bathtub after Ebron and the boy's mother, Lonna Barton, locked the boy in a room while they had sex. Ebron said they found him face down in the water.

"The right thing to do would have been to seek medical attention for him, to call 911, to have rescue come out there, but also be responsible for the actions that he took," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Chief Tom Hackney said.

Instead, police said Ebron dumped Lonzie's body and staged the boy's disappearance, which led to a massive, 10-day-long search by hundreds of law enforcement officers and months of continuing investigation.

In court Friday, the public defender read a letter from Ebron in which Ebron apologized to his family, Lonzie and Lonna Barton, who was Ebron's girlfriend when the boy disappeared.

Lonna Barton pleaded guilty in January to charges of child neglect and lying to police. She is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

Ebron's father, William Ebron Sr., said he asked his son six months ago, "Did something happen and you panicked? If so, it can be rectified."

Judge Mark Borello sentenced Ebron to 20 years on the aggravated manslaughter charge, five years on the child neglect count, five years on the tampering with evidence charge and one year on the lying to police count. All sentences will be served concurrently, so the Ebron's total time in prison will be 20 years.

“In my 34 years as a prosecutor, child deaths have been the most difficult cases we can handle,” State Attorney Angela Corey said after the hearing.

Already receiving criticism that Ebron should have gone to trial and received a longer sentence, Corey said that after five months of searching without success for Lonzie’s body, “the negotiated disposition that we entered into today is the only way we could bring Lonzie home.”

Corey said she hears the community’s call for justice but had to honor the duties of law and balance it with getting justice for Lonzie.

“It’s bittersweet. I, too, believe bringing that child’s body back to the community was important,” Corey said. “We would not necessarily have made a deal like that if we had any hope of finding the body on our own.”

Corey said while the autopsy could not determine a cause of death, there was evidence of injuries inflicted during child's life, including healed injuries, likely meaning Lonzie had been abused during his short life.

"Had this baby been found earlier, would there have been a different result? Possibly, but we'll never know. So we deal with the facts and the laws we have then," Corey said.

more at link

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Wednesday marked one year since the tragic discovery of the remains of Lonzie Barton in woods off Interstate 295 in Jacksonville's Bayard area.

A memorial for the toddler still sits near that area.

Lonzie was then reported missing in the early morning hours of July 24, 2015 by Ruben Ebron, who told police that his car had been stolen with his girlfriend's 21-month-old son inside, which prompted a Florida Amber Alert to be issued.

The six-month search came to an end last January when Ebron, who was convicted of aggravated manslaughter and child abuse in the boy's death, gave officers directions to where he discarded the 21-month-old's body.